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Tag Archives: The Lost Boys

So to recap our LA trip that was organised for us… We all arrived Friday morning and we were chauffeured to the hotel in Beverly Hills. After much welcomed showers we then hopped on the tourist bus, where hubbie and I dozed a bit, but we got to see most of the sites and some famous houses as well! Then we had an afternoon nap, to then join the world for drinks by the pool.

Drinks by the pool consisted of buffet hanger steak and lamb; paella; deserts such as red velvet cupcakes, mango jubes and all sorts of other goodies; and of course all you can drink alcohol. I don’t think I have ever had hanger steak before, but it was absolutely mouthwatering. It was served with some sort of brown sauce and a pinch of salt. After a taste of the paella (Spanish rice dish) and lamb (not as tasty as Australian!) we went back for more hanger steak! I must ask my butcher friend about it… it is sometimes called ‘butchers steak’, ‘skirt steak’ or ‘bistro steak’. I hope we can get it over here!

Saturday morning consisted of three hours work for hubbie, and I went shopping at Macy’s. I love Macy’s – especially when it is 25% off all day if you buy a charity voucher for $5. We had free time Saturday afternoon, so I took hubbie back to Macy’s and he bought 2 suits, 2 shirts, 3 ties for $500! We walked down the street to get his suits hemmed and had another afternoon nap before the Playboy Mansion.

Sunday was Universal Studios and then we were taken out to dinner. Everyone wanted to go out drinking after dinner, but thankfully hubbie listened to my voice of reason and we headed back to the room after dinner. We had another 3 weeks worth of travel, and after all the alcohol consumed at the Playboy Mansion I didn’t want another big night. We were also supposed to go on a bike ride at Santa Monica the next morning after breakfast on the beachfront!

I had asked hubbie if we could skip the bike ride if I wasn’t feeling 100%. I would hate to be half way on a bike ride and feel like being sick, or worse – fall off! I hadn’t looked at where we were going for breakfast, or where the bike ride was going, I was just following the crowd; but as the bus came into view of the ocean and I saw the pier, I thought of The Lost Boys and knew we weren’t going on the bike ride.

The Lost Boys is one of my top 10 favourite movies and The Lost Boys soundtrack is my number one! I just need to hear the words “People are strange, when you’re a stranger”, or “Mary Mary you’re on my mind”, or “Through the storms, Through the cries, And through the wars, Oh, I still believe” and I am transported to Santa Carla and a world of vampires and cute boys. My sisters and I would have chosen this video in the video store because of Corey Haim and Corey Feldman. We were huge Corey fans. My love started for Corey Feldman in Stand By Me and of course The Goonies. We also knew the evil Keifer Sutherland (also in Stand By Me), but Jason Patric was new to us!

So as we drove down towards the pier and I saw the Ferris wheel and the roller coaster I just wanted to explore the pier and re-live The Lost Boys as much as possible. Santa Carla (“Murder Capital of the World”) is a fictional town in California based on Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is further up the coast closer to San Francisco, so Santa Monica would just have to do for me.

I love American piers and I just hope that the Perth foreshore incorporates the tourist appeal that American piers have. We walked the pier after breakfast and I was praying that the roller coaster and Ferris wheel would open (hubbie and I are not morning people, so to be somewhere where things weren’t open yet was a bit foreign!). We then went for a walk along the beach and walked under the pier. One of my old time favourite songs is “Under the Boardwalk”, so I was excited to be under the boardwalk :P. It was also a little spooky under there, since so many murders in TV shows and novels occur on the beach and/or near boardwalks.

We then went on the roller coaster and the Ferris wheel. The roller coaster was completely tame after being at Universal Studios the day before. But we got to go around twice and there was a spot where I lost my stomach twice! The Ferris wheel was quite tame too, except the fact the sides of the car seemed quite low and hubbie has a habit of moving seats and rocking the car. I had a plan to quickly sit on the floor and hug the pole, which I think scared hubbie a little bit that I had a plan! The view from the Ferris wheel was great though.

We explored the pier some more and found Zoltar – from Tom Hanks’ Big. And no I did not ask for a wish, don’t you remember what happened last time! We also saw Bubba Gump Shrimp Co (inspired by the 1994 film Forrest Gump) and Soda Jerks (just a random name!! hehe).

I wanted a little more of The Lost Boysat this stage and was looking in every store for comics. I just loved the movie so much. The scene where Star (Jami Gertz) and Michael (Jason Patric) make eyes at each other during “I Still Believe” was so seductive, even for a young teenager! Some of my favourite quotes also come from this movie:

Grandpa: “No. I just like to read the T.V. Guide. Read the T.V. Guide, you don’t need a T.V”;

David: “What, you don’t like rice? Tell me Michael, how could a billion Chinese people be wrong?”;

Sam: “Are you freebasing, Michael? Inquiring minds want to know”;

Sam: “Death by stereo!”;

Grandpa: “One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach, all the damn vampires”.

The movie is just the perfect mix of comic, suspense and horror and even some love. Sam’s line “Look at your reflection in the mirror. You’re a creature of the night Michael, just like out of a comic book! You’re a vampire Michael! My own brother, a goddamn, shit-sucking vampire. You wait ’till mom finds out, buddy!” pretty much says it all. The movie was probably my first introduction to vampires as well. The Lost Boys was in 1987, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Buffy the Vampire Slayer were 1992, Interview with a Vampirewas 1994, From Dusk Til Dawn was 1996 (all movies from our video teenage era!).

The last stop on the pier, which should have been the first stop if we has actually done it in order, was the carousel. I love the first scene of the movie where Keifer Sutherland (David) and his boys are walking through a carousel as it is going around. Keifer’s long black coat is flapping, his colour turned up like Dracula’s would, and he is smirking and just looking menacing. It is the perfect start to a movie so I was glad to see the carousel. A comic book store would have sealed the whole experience, but I walked away with a big smile on my face.

People are strange when you’re a strangerFaces look ugly when you’re aloneWomen seem wicked when you’re unwantedStreets are uneven when you’re down